YAY! School is finally out and summer vaction is finally here! So sorry for the long wait but finals where taking over my brain and so I had to "study" for them...but you should know that I never study for anything and yet I get some of the best grades in class...(makes you think How is that possible? huh.......probably not sigh) Anyway, now that I don't have to worry about school for the next 2 or 3 months...I should be updating my stories more often, but I'm not so sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing...hmm....I'll let you decide that. But anyway, enough of me and on with the chapter!

Just so you'll know...I don't own BeyBlade...

Chapter 11: Harsh Heartbroken Past

"All right Kai. I'll tell you what happened," Celia responded, exhaling slowly, preparing herself to relive the past. "It all started not too long ago when we actually started to compete in the local tournaments where we lived. That was about 3 years ago when we were new to the world. Then one day, Mr. Dickenson came to a tournament and saw our potential.."

FLASHBACK

"You girls are excellent bladers. With your talents, you are destined for greatness. How about you register for the All Girls Tournament that will be held next month?" Mr. D asked the newly rising stars in beyblading.

"Are you serious?" Karen excitedly asked.

"Of course I am! I see great potential in you four," Mr. D responded with a positive attitude. All three members turned toward their leader with pleading, anxious faces that were hard to ignore.

"All right, we'll enter, but training will be twice as hard," Celia proclaimed to her excited team. The small group broke out in cheers and even Mr. D was excited.

"All right girls. I'll see you a week before the tournament to get ready to leave for China," Mr. D informed to the anxious girls. With that, he left for them to prepare themselves.

END FLASHBACK

"And so we prepared ourselves for it and when the time came to leave, we were ready. However, when we found out our first round opponents, our confidence actually shook..."

FLASHBACK

"I can't believe that we're up against the reigning champions, the Trinity!" Karen exclaimed with a slight worried expression. Sophie was fidgeting and Julie was beginning to pale. Although Celia was the calmest looking of the group, she was actually worried that they would get knocked out of the tournament in the first round.

"Well well, if it isn't the newbies. Too bad they'll be knocked out of the tournament in the first round because their first opponents will be us," an annoying voice gloated toward the so called "newbies." The Trinity's annoyingly high pitched laughter filled the area. Celia, filled with anger, walked straight up to the Trinity leader, Sidra, and glared at her. Sidra glared right back with a disgusted look on her face. "What do you want?"

"Let me give you a piece of advise: 'Never underestimate your competition.' Learn it well," Celia responded with unwavering courage. The leader just rolled her eyes arrogantly.

"Yeah whatever," Sidra responded back, dismissing the thought. Celia narrowed her eyes and smirked.

"Well when we beat you in the first round and become the champions, you'll wish you had learn it," Celia said smugly. With that, she left and returned to her team. The Trinity just huffed and dismissed the ridiculous thought of being beaten in the first round. The Sacred Stars, however, were still quite nervous and unsure of their own abilities in beating the champions. Celia saw this and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. We can do this."

"Do you really think so?" Karen asked, gathering strength from her leader's confidence in them.

"Of course. I wouldn't have said if I wasn't sure. Give it everything you got," Celia said with a determined voice, trying to raise her team's confidence. The team smiled with the reassurance of their captain.

END FLASHBACK

"And with that confidence, we entered the arena. Even if we had some doubt, we never let it show, but the thing was that we didn't even break a sweat in beating them. Either they still thought they could win after being defeated in the first match or of our skills at the time, but I wasn't sure why they were so easy if they were the champions. They were as easy as amateurs. We couldn't believe that they were so simple to beat. They were shocked and the crowd was stunned that a new team could beat them so easily and so fast. The Trinity ran out of the arena with their hands covering their tear-stained faces and flushed with embarrassment. We won the rest of the our matches with ease and became the new champions. We celebrated and soon everyone always challenged us. We went home to take a break until the next tournament. That's when I met him..."

FLASHBACK

"Good job Esdraloon," Celia complimented to her blade when it returned to her. Esdraloon glowed a little in thanks and Celia smiled. She launched her blade again and was slightly startled when another blade shot through the bushes and landed in the dish. Celia narrowed her eyes and Esdraloon intensified her attack. The dark gray blade was no match for the white one and was sent flying from the dish. It landed near the bushes where it came from. "Show yourself," Celia demanded harshly, glaring intently. She was about to blow when the figure finally stepped forward from the bushes. It was a boy around her age, maybe a year older than her with dark green eyes and light brown hair. He was a head taller than her and was slightly built. He had on a nervous and slightly sheepish expression on his face.

"Sorry," he said, embarrassed with an apologetic look.

"Explain yourself," Celia commanded with a scowl on her face.

"I just thought you might want some company and have a friendly spar, that's all," he replied quickly, trying to defend himself.

"Hmph! Ever thought of asking? In any case, you're no match for me and I've already obviously proved my point," Celia remarked. She raised her hand and her blade shot right into it. She was about to leave when he stopped her.

"Wait! Could you just give me another shot?" he asked in a somewhat pleading voice.

"Why should I?" Celia questioned back, not turning to face him.

"Because...because I deserve a fair shot and I know I was out of line when I launched my beyblade at yours," he reasoned, hoping he would get a chance.

'I'm gonna regret this,' Celia thought to herself with a slightly annoyed look on her face. She turned to face him and sighed. "Fine. One shot is all you get," she stated, readying her blade. The picked up his blade with a relieved and happy expression on his face. When they were in position, Celia made the count. "3...2...1...Let it rip!" With that, both beyblades were launched. Neither made the first move as they just analyzed each other. Then he made the first move and attacked. Celia decided to wait it out until she saw what he was really made of.

"Go!" he yelled, bringing on his assault. His technique changed and his blade began to attack at all angles. Celia narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth. She decided that she should attack back or else she would lose.

"Attack Esdraloon!" The white blade powered up and attacked head on with the dark gray blade. Sparks flew as the blades clashed. Neither blader took notice of the sparks, too intent on the battle. They exchanged blow for blow, trying to see an opening. Then Celia saw it. She attacked straight on and knocked his beyblade right out of the dish. The dark gray beyblade landed right by his feet not moving. The white blade returned to the owner's hand. The boy just picked up his blade and smiled at her.

"Thanks for giving me a chance. Now I know how much harder I need to work," he said, putting his blade in his pocket. Celia just shrugged. For the second time that day, he stopped her from leaving. "Hey, I--" he was cut off when she spoke.

"Nice battle. Glad to see that there is actually some decent competition left around here. You most likely know my name. What's yours?" she questioned, glancing at him from over her shoulder. He seemed surprised at her sudden compliment and question but soon shook out of it.

"My name is Jamie and thank you," Jamie responded with a still surprised look on his face.

"Not a problem. Maybe we'll see each other again," she replied with a slight smirk. With that, she left him standing there all alone.

END FLASHBACK

"That's how we first met. Ironically enough, we did meet each other again and began to actually hang out," Celia said with a faraway look in her eyes. Kai, who had been silent the whole time just looked at her expression. He looked away with a slightly saddened look on his face. "I introduced him to the others and we all became good friends. Then the next thing I knew, were going out," she said with slight smile. Kai saw this and was slightly saddened even more.

"Did you like him?" Kai asked suddenly, wanting to know the answer. Celia was surprised at the question and looked at him. He wasn't looking at her but waited for her answer. She looked down and nodded slightly. Kai became a little bit jealous of the guy named Jamie.

"I guess at the time I did like him but it never really went as far as love now that I think about it," she replied with a thoughtful look on her face. Kai smile inwardly at her confession. "Although at the time I did think that I loved him but I was only 12 or 13 at the time."

"So what happened?" Kai asked. He felt her stiffen a bit and looked at her worriedly. He noticed her expression saddened a bit. He hugged her closer to him to reassure that it would be okay. After a few seconds, she resumed her story.

"After we got together, Mr. D came and told us that there a tournament coming up soon. Jamie didn't want to be apart from me so he decided that he wanted to come with us. He took on the role as our manager in a way. Mr. D agreed to let him come along. So he came with us to all of our tournaments and I even had him train with us to sharpen his skills," Celia said. Her expression turned to one of slightly angered and Kai sensed that. He saw her somewhat angered face and cold narrowed eyes.

"After a few weeks, he started to change. He became...I don't know. I guess you could say more possessive of me. I hardly had any time to myself and then spent less and less time with my teammates. The only actual time I got to spend with them was practice which was only 2 to 3 three hours a day. Then the only other time I got to see them was when they were asleep. When I tired of this, I confronted his about it..."

FLASHBACK

"Jamie, I need to talk to you," Celia stated to her boyfriend with a serious expression on her face.

"What's the matter?" Jamie questioned, picking up one of the new parts that he had bought earlier. They were currently in his room, up-grading his beyblade. Celia was currently calculating the spin ratio and looking at the gears.

"Well, we've been spending a lot of time together and you've even been keeping me from my own teammates," Celia began and moved her attention toward him.

"What's wrong with that?" Jamie asked with a innocent look on his face with a slight shrug.

"I want you to stop being so possessive of me as if I'm your possession and let me be with my team," she argued slightly back at him.

"You are mine," he countered with a slight growl.

"What?!" she exclaimed, jerking away from him. Her face was full of shock and rage. She looked at him through narrowed eyes with fire burning within them. "Who gave you the right to claim me as yours?!"

"You were mine when we first met," he said with a smug look but was getting angry at her defiance. She stood up in anger and he followed suit.

"When have you been so arrogant? You have never been like this until a few weeks ago. Why have you suddenly started acting this way?" she yelled at him. He didn't respond to her questions. She grew angrier at each passing second and finally couldn't stand it any longer. She began to make her way toward the door which was unfortunately blocked by him. He stopped her by grabbing her arm in a fierce grip as she was walking past him.

"Where are you going?" he growled at her, whipping her in front of him. He scowled at her when she tried to pull her arm away. She winced slightly when he tightened his grip.

"I'm gonna go back to my room and wait for the girls," she responded with a scowl equal to his. "Now let me go!" she exclaimed, still trying to get out of his grasp. His grip tightened even further and she desperately tried to loosen his grip. She began to hit his arm but he refused to let her go. Instead he opted to throw her into the nearest wall. She hit the wall hard and slid down to the ground, pain taking over her senses. He advanced toward her and punched her in her face. She yelled out in pain and looked for anything to defend herself, wishing that she had brought her blade with her. Fear and panic rose when nothing was close enough for her to use. She felt hot liquid beginning to run down her face, not only tears but crimson red blood as well.

"You are not going anywhere until I say so," he barked angrily and began to abuse her again. He kicked her fiercely in her stomach over and over again. He also began to slam his foot onto her leg so she wouldn't be able to run away if given the chance. He kept up with his assault and she was hit at every area possible. With each hit she let out a strangled cry, hoping beyond hope that someone would hear.

"That was a good movie," Sophie commented to her companions. Julie and Karen nodded in agreement.

"Too bad Celia couldn't go with us," Karen said with a melancholy expression on her face.

"Don't' worry girls. Maybe she'll join us next time," Mr. D reassured the sad group. They were currently making their way to their rooms. Their heads shot up when they heard a cry followed by what sounded like shattering glass and more screaming.

"Celia!" the girls exclaimed, instantly recognizing the desperate cries. They ran toward the room where the cries and noise was coming from and saw that it was Jamie's room. Each of the girls took out their newly up-graded beyblades and launchers while Mr. D was speaking on the phone, talking with the police.

"Ready?" Julie questioned to Karen and Sophie who were readying their blades. They nodded in response and Julie kicked open the door. They rushed in and immediately saw their fallen friend and captain on the floor, writhing in pain, covered in blood. Julie was the first to respond by fiercely launching her blade aiming right at Jamie. Karen and Sophie soon followed and the three beyblades flew straight at their target creating cuts and tears all over him. He began to move away from the nearly unconscious body and tried to swat away the beyblades. Each girl called out their bit beast and were soon encircling him. The girls quickly made their way toward their fallen friend and tried to keep her awake. Not so long after, authorities and officials piled into the room and arrested Jamie. Medics appeared and gently placed Celia on a stretcher and hurriedly brought her out the room and into the ambulance.

"You won't see the last of me," Jamie snarled toward the three girls before being dragged away by the police.

"Make sure you lock him up securely," Mr. D commanded to the police chief. He nodded in response and hurried off. The chairman turned toward the three scared girls. "Come on girls. We need to get to the hospital quickly," he replied and they nodded and followed him to the limo.

END FLASHBACK

"I stayed in the hospital for several weeks. I had broken bones, cuts and bruises everywhere. It took me a long time but I eventually got better," Celia said a light sniff. She was clutching onto Kai as if her life depended on it while Kai was hugging her closer to him than before and all the while inwardly cursing the idiot to hell and back several times.

'So that's why she told me not to hurt her,' Kai thought, realizing what Julie had meant. He saw silent tears run down her pained face it hurt him to see her this way. He gently wiped away her tears and rubbed her arm in reassurance. After a few minutes, she spoke again.

"After that, I vowed that I wouldn't allow anyone that close to my heart again," she said with a slight choked voice. "But I guess the girls and now you guys are an exception," she added with a small smile. "Thank you Kai."

"For what?" Kai asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Everything. Helping me out from the beginning and saving me from Tala and especially listening and comforting me when I needed someone the most," she said honestly with a bit of shyness in her tone. She wasn't looking at him at the moment but if she was, she would have noticed a tint of blush on Kai's cheeks.

"Whatever. Look it's getting late and...uh...you need your rest," Kai said with a slight stutter. He released his hold on her and was about to turn off the light when she grasped his arm. He turned to look at her and saw fear still present in her eyes.

"Could you sleep next to me, if only for one night, please?" she asked somewhat desperately. "I don't feel safe sleeping by myself," she added. Kai sighed and nodded, understanding that she still needed the comfort.

"Just let me change and turn off the light," he replied. She nodded and let him go to do his own business and glad that he didn't refuse. She was secretly longing for his warmth as well as his comfort. She couldn't explain it but she felt warm and safe around him, especially when he was holding her. She smiled to herself and realized that she had fallen for him harder than she realized. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't realized that he was waiting for her to move over to give him some room. She blushed a bit when she saw that he was clad in only a shirt and boxers. When she moved over, he climbed into the bed and turned off the lamp. He tensed a bit when she snuggled up close to him but relaxed when he saw her peaceful face. He wrapped his arms around her once again and made a silent vow to himself, 'I'll always be there for you, no matter what.'

Well there you have it...Celia's past. Don't forget to review and tell me what you think! I'll have the next chapter up soon!

later, kurai hoshi